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Article from NotiCen, April 3
Having just put the finishing touches on a power-enhancing overhaul of the Nicaraguan Constitution, President Daniel Ortega is now looking to extend control of yet another area of the country’s government apparatus: forestry administration. In a bill presented to the Asamblea Legislativa (AL) in February, the president’s office outlined a plan to take over all of the state’s various forest-management functions. Among other things, the reform will give Ortega power to decide which forest-based industries and logging companies operate where. The Ortega administration is selling the proposal as a way to promote "the rational and sustainable use of the forests" and thus crack down on "extraordinary" deforestation, which is affecting large sections of the country, including its many nature reserves (there are more than 70 in Nicaragua). Critics question whether the president’s close ties to ALBA Forestal, a joint Nicaraguan-Venezuelan logging company, may also be driving the decision.
Benjamin Witte-Lebhar
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